Process of preparing razor-strops.



GEORGE \VALTER MOFARLAND, OF WILMERDIN G, PENNSYLVANIA.

PROCESS OF PREPARING RAZOR- -STROPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 722,129, dated March3, 1903.

Application filed December 6, 1902. Serial No, 134,199. (No model.)

To (tZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE WALTER Mo- FARLAND, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of VVilmerding, in the county of Allegheny andState of Pennsylvania, have made a certain new and useful Invention inProcesses of Preparing Razor-Stroos; and I declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use theinvention.

The invention relates to razor-strops; and it consists in the novelprocess of preparing the same, as hereinafter set forth.

It is well known in the trade that a razorstrop such as is furnished onthe market must go through several months of usage before it will givethe barber satisfaction.

It is the object of this invention to provide a strop which can befurnished to the trade in condition to do on the first usingsatisfactory work, such as would be accomplished by a strop which hashad several months prepara tory use.

The process consists in the following steps: First, I take a piece ofsuitable leather and scrape it thoroughly, removing from the surface allgritty matter, raising the fine fiber of the leather, and rendering thesurface of the strop more uniform; second, I strain the piece of leatherendwise by means of thumbscrew clamps secured to bearings or by anyother suitable device, whereby I take all the elastic stretch out of theleather, make it more solid, and prevent the enameling from cracking andwearing off in use; third, I rub particles of steel into the surface ofthe leather by means of revolving steel blades having a speed of aboutone hundred revolutions to the minute. I usually employ sixteen steelblades on the rotary shaft, and the strop is pressed down upon theseblades by means of thumb-screw clamps secured to the framework. In thismanner it is designed to give the leather sixteen hundred strokes ofsteel per minute, and thereby to work into the leather through thewearing down of these steel blades the proper amount of steel enamel forthe purpose in view. The time required to work this enamel into thesurface of a strop of ordinary size is about fifteen hours; but a numberof them may be worked at the same time.

Having described this invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent,

The process of preparing razor-strops,which consists first, in scrapingthe surface of the leather to free it of grit, and raise the fine fiber;second, in straining the leather endwise to render itinelastic andsolid; and third, in rapidly revolving steel blades in forcible contactwith the surface of the leather, to enamel the same with fine particlesof steel, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE WALTER MCFARLAND.

Witnesses:

H. H. WELsH, Sr., Gno. T. J ACOBS.

